Melbourne, Jan 21 (IANS): Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka survived a stern challenge from No. 27 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach her third consecutive Australian Open semifinal. Top seed Sabalenka twice came from a breakdown in the decider to advance 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in 1 hour and 53 minutes at Rod Laver Arena. The middle set was the first Sabalenka had dropped in Melbourne since the 2023 final.

The result means Sabalenka becomes the first player since Maria Sharapova to reach 10 Grand Slam semifinals in her career. Sharapova hit the double-digit mark at the 2008 Australian Open, which would be the third of her five major titles.

With her win, Sabalenka is staying on track to become the first woman to win the Australian Open title three years in a row since Martina Hingis in 1999.

It looked like Sabalenka was set for an easy win when she eased through the first set, keeping Pavlyuchenkova pinned behind the baseline with the power of her returns and precision of her groundstrokes. In a spectacular second set, Pavlyuchenkova held her ground on the baseline and went toe-to-toe with Sabalenka, tallying 10 winners to just four unforced errors. She secured a dominant hold to win the second set 6-2, levelling the match against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

The decider opened with four consecutive breaks of serve as both players struggled with their deliveries in the wind, but settled thereafter with three straightforward holds. But serving with a point to level at 4-4, Pavlyuchenkova's forehand let her down with two cheap errors into the net.

A sprayed backhand long, and Sabalenka found herself up 5-3 and serving for the match. She made no mistake, slamming down a service winner to convert her first match point, WTA reports. Sabalenka, bidding to reach her fifth Grand Slam final, will face first-time major semifinalist and No.11 seed Paula Badosa of Spain in the semifinal.